TY - BOOK ID - 85464750 TI - The Paradox of Traditional Chiefs in Democratic Africa PY - 2016 SN - 1316455807 131642233X 1316452441 1107127335 1107566444 PB - New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, DB - UniCat KW - Central-local government relations KW - Chiefdoms KW - Local government KW - Democratization KW - Local administration KW - Township government KW - Subnational governments KW - Administrative and political divisions KW - Decentralization in government KW - Public administration KW - Chieftaincies KW - Chieftainships KW - Political anthropology KW - Center-periphery government relations KW - Local-central government relations KW - Local government-central government relations KW - Political science KW - Federal government KW - Democratic consolidation KW - Democratic transition KW - New democracies UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:85464750 AB - The Paradox of Traditional Chiefs in Democratic Africa shows that unelected traditional leaders can facilitate democratic responsiveness. Ironically, chiefs' undemocratic character gives them a capacity to organize responses to rural problems that elected politicians and state institutions lack. Specifically, chiefs' longer time horizons encourage investment in local institutions that enable the provision of local public goods. This is the paradox of traditional chiefs in democratic Africa: elected politicians can only effectively respond to rural constituents through institutions constructed and maintained by local leaders who are not worried about electoral terms. Furthermore, the critical role played by chiefs in brokering local development projects forces us to reassess how we understand the basis of their political influence during elections. The book examines the effects of traditional leaders on the electoral connection in Africa through a multi-method approach that combines qualitative research, surveys, and experiments, with particular attention to the Zambian case. ER -